Source: Fatāwā Amanpuri by Shaykh Ghulam Mustafa Zaheer Amanpuri
What is the ruling on cutting hair before ʿĪd al-Aḍḥā?
If a person intends to perform Qurbānī (sacrifice), then he should not cut his hair before ʿĪd.
1. Sayyidah Umm Salamah رضي الله عنها narrated:
((إذا دخلت العشر وأراد أحدكم أن يضحي فلا يمس من شعره وبشره شيئا))
“When the first ten days of Dhul-Ḥijjah begin, and one of you intends to sacrifice, let him not touch (remove) anything from his hair or skin.”
(Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim 1977)
2. In Sunan al-Nasāʾī (4362):
“Whoever intends to offer sacrifice should not trim his nails or cut his hair in the first ten days of Dhul-Ḥijjah.”
❀ ʿAbdullāh ibn ʿUmar رضي الله عنهما used to shave his head after slaughtering his sacrifice, saying:
“This is not obligatory.”
(Muwaṭṭaʾ Imām Mālik 2/483 – authentic)
❀ He also saw a woman cutting her child’s hair during Dhul-Ḥijjah and said:
“If you had delayed it until the day of sacrifice, it would have been better.”
(al-Mustadrak 4/246, ḥadīth 7520 – chain ḥasan)
❀ Saʿīd ibn al-Musayyib رحمه الله confirmed that the fatwā of not cutting hair/nails during Dhul-Ḥijjah for one intending to sacrifice was the same fatwā of the Companions.
(Musnad Isḥāq ibn Rāhwayh 1817 – authentic)
ʿAbdullāh ibn ʿAmr رضي الله عنه narrated:
A Companion said: O Messenger of Allah ﷺ, I only have a goat for sacrifice (and it is loaned for milking). Should I sacrifice it? The Prophet ﷺ replied:
“No. Instead, on the 10th of Dhul-Ḥijjah, trim your hair, cut your nails, shave your moustache, and remove your pubic hair. Allah will write for you the complete reward of sacrifice.”
(Musnad Aḥmad 2/169, Sunan Abī Dāwūd 2789, Sunan al-Nasāʾī 4365 – chain ḥasan. Declared ṣaḥīḥ by Ibn Ḥibbān, al-Ḥākim, and al-Dhahabī)
✿ Cutting hair before the sighting of Dhul-Ḥijjah is recommended (mustaḥabb), not obligatory.
✿ One who intends to perform Qurbānī should avoid cutting hair and nails from the beginning of Dhul-Ḥijjah until after the sacrifice.
✿ A person unable to afford Qurbānī may trim hair/nails before Dhul-Ḥijjah begins; if he refrains afterward, he will still receive the full reward of sacrifice.
❖ Question
What is the ruling on cutting hair before ʿĪd al-Aḍḥā?
❖ Answer
If a person intends to perform Qurbānī (sacrifice), then he should not cut his hair before ʿĪd.
◈ Evidences from Aḥādīth
1. Sayyidah Umm Salamah رضي الله عنها narrated:
((إذا دخلت العشر وأراد أحدكم أن يضحي فلا يمس من شعره وبشره شيئا))
“When the first ten days of Dhul-Ḥijjah begin, and one of you intends to sacrifice, let him not touch (remove) anything from his hair or skin.”
(Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim 1977)
2. In Sunan al-Nasāʾī (4362):
“Whoever intends to offer sacrifice should not trim his nails or cut his hair in the first ten days of Dhul-Ḥijjah.”
◈ Statements of the Companions
❀ ʿAbdullāh ibn ʿUmar رضي الله عنهما used to shave his head after slaughtering his sacrifice, saying:
“This is not obligatory.”
(Muwaṭṭaʾ Imām Mālik 2/483 – authentic)
❀ He also saw a woman cutting her child’s hair during Dhul-Ḥijjah and said:
“If you had delayed it until the day of sacrifice, it would have been better.”
(al-Mustadrak 4/246, ḥadīth 7520 – chain ḥasan)
❀ Saʿīd ibn al-Musayyib رحمه الله confirmed that the fatwā of not cutting hair/nails during Dhul-Ḥijjah for one intending to sacrifice was the same fatwā of the Companions.
(Musnad Isḥāq ibn Rāhwayh 1817 – authentic)
◈ Another Ḥadīth
ʿAbdullāh ibn ʿAmr رضي الله عنه narrated:
A Companion said: O Messenger of Allah ﷺ, I only have a goat for sacrifice (and it is loaned for milking). Should I sacrifice it? The Prophet ﷺ replied:
“No. Instead, on the 10th of Dhul-Ḥijjah, trim your hair, cut your nails, shave your moustache, and remove your pubic hair. Allah will write for you the complete reward of sacrifice.”
(Musnad Aḥmad 2/169, Sunan Abī Dāwūd 2789, Sunan al-Nasāʾī 4365 – chain ḥasan. Declared ṣaḥīḥ by Ibn Ḥibbān, al-Ḥākim, and al-Dhahabī)
◈ Summary Ruling
✿ Cutting hair before the sighting of Dhul-Ḥijjah is recommended (mustaḥabb), not obligatory.
✿ One who intends to perform Qurbānī should avoid cutting hair and nails from the beginning of Dhul-Ḥijjah until after the sacrifice.
✿ A person unable to afford Qurbānī may trim hair/nails before Dhul-Ḥijjah begins; if he refrains afterward, he will still receive the full reward of sacrifice.
Conclusion
- Those intending to sacrifice: should not cut hair/nails during the first ten days of Dhul-Ḥijjah until after Qurbānī.
- Those not sacrificing: may cut hair/nails, but it is better to follow the Sunnah of trimming before Dhul-Ḥijjah begins.
